Algidity
by Ron4
Summary: The algid air swept across both Marissa and Seth’s faces in a soft, caressing breeze. They shivered. But they didn’t care about the cold. They just didn’t care.


Algidity  
  
The algid air swept across Seth Cohen's face in a soft, caressing breeze. He shivered. It was somewhere between one and two o'clock on a November morning, and Seth was sauntering around outside. He was pensive, and he needed freedom when he was like that. Being able to walk around, and being able to intake the cold, fresh air helped to move his mind.  
  
He stopped when he approached the pool. He sat down next to it and looked up at the stars. They wouldn't be visible in a few hours. The dark sapphire sky would be replaced with a bright, sunny, lighter hue. Seth exhaled deeply, thoughtfully. The air in front of his face turned frosty and visibly white. It faded, like the stars soon would.  
  
Footsteps were audible from somewhere, and Seth's attention was diverted to trying to locate the source. He heard them again. It sounded like they were coming from next door, at the Cooper's. He stood up and slowly made his way there, wondering who would be out this early.  
  
Crossing the yard, Seth cautiously found his way around the foliaged partition between the two houses, and onto the Cooper's driveway. To answer his question, Marissa Cooper was pacing there.  
  
"Marissa?" he whispered.  
  
She whipped around quickly, obviously startled. "Seth, what are you doing out here?"  
  
"I could ask the same about you," he said. He separated the distance between them, slowly walking up to her, hands in his pockets. He stopped when we was beside her.  
  
"I'm just thinking," she explained. As she spoke, her breath formed the same white cloud as Seth's had.  
  
"Care to share?"  
  
"It's not your problem," she said, gently.  
  
"I'm always here if you need someone to talk to," he affirmed. It was the right thing to say, of course, but somehow, it seemed out of place, like he needn't say it.  
  
"Thanks," she said. After a short pause, she added, "What about you?"  
  
"Thinking, too. I come out here a lot when I have stuff on my mind."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
There was another pause, but this one was much longer. They both stared at the sky. They rarely talked, let alone before the sun had risen. Seth let his gaze fall to Marissa's face. The moon shone on it, eliciting her features in a soft glow. Her tanned skin looked unusually fair from the illumination, and it also looked softer than any other skin. The gray- blue that was her eyes twinkled in the moonlight. Everything that had always been there, but Seth had never noticed, was now there in his face.  
  
His breath caught, and he looked back up at the sky. He had never seen Marissa in that light before. She was his next-door neighbor. She was the kind of person that was usually your best friend, although that wasn't so in this case. Nevertheless, he had known her his whole life, and all of a sudden, he was hit with this realization.  
  
Shortly after he looked back up, Marissa had slowly brought her eyes to rest on his face. For her, too, the moonlight brought out the features in him that she never paid attention to. His naturally sleek hair was even more lustrous than usual. His skin looked tender and caring. She recognized that Seth could be a gentle, loving person. For some reason, she figured nobody had ever given him the chance to show that side of himself. Seth was... Seth was always there. He acted goofy and tried to be macho all the time. But in reality, Seth was considerate, thoughtful, kind. He always had been, yet she had never seen it.  
  
He looked back down again, and she was still staring at him. She was slightly unnerved by this, yet at the same time, she was collected. He, also, appeared to be sharing similar feelings.  
  
He was the first to look away, averting his gaze, once again, to the heavens. She looked down. She wanted to say something to him, but she wasn't sure exactly what. If she took another step towards him, she could talk to him in a lower tone, and keep the serenity of their surroundings pure. She lifted her foot, and stumbled on a loose stone, which shouldn't have been on the driveway in the first place.  
  
"Whoa," he said softly, and stopped her from falling. He gripped her hands with his, and she was pressed up against him. She felt the warmth from his breath send confusion to her cheek, which was used to the cold. She looked into his eyes. They were a deep brown, and she could see compassion in them.  
  
Her breath became slightly more ragged, and she was nervous. His breath still warmed her cheek, and he was nervous. Despite this, she didn't try to get up, and he didn't let go of her. Instead, he let one of his hands slip behind her back, and he brought the other up to her ear, where he tucked a piece of hair back.  
  
His hand cupped her jawbone affectionately. In turn, she lifted her hand to the back of his head and pulled it slowly towards hers. There was a minor pause before their lips met. Seth broke the pause by breaking the distance between them.  
  
He kissed her softly, and she kissed back softly. It was a good kiss; it was a sweet kiss, but it was a little bit passionate. It was perfect. It was the perfect length, and they pulled away perfectly.  
  
He stroked his thumb across her jaw line, towards her mouth. His thumb pulled at her bottom lip as he pulled his hand away. Her eyes twinkled, once again, in the moonlight.  
  
The algid air swept across both Marissa and Seth's faces in a soft, caressing breeze. They shivered. But they didn't care about the cold. They just didn't care.  
  
--end-- 


End file.
